CENTRO INTERESCOLAR DE LÍNGUAS DE CEILÂNDIA

STUDENT: CLASS

INSPIRING OTHERS TO SUCCESS: MICHELLE OBAMA

Michelle Obama is best known as the former US First Lady, but long before becoming the
wife of America’s first African American president, this strong and inspirational woman
was changing the world.
With her history of taking practical steps to make social changes, and in particular her goal
of empowering women, she has become a role model to many people.

FAMILY SUPPORT
Before meeting Barack Obama, Michelle was growing up on the south side of Chicago,
where she was born in 1964. Her family emphasised the importance of education and
Michelle excelled at school, going on to attend Princeton University. She continued her
education at Harvard Law School, where she took part in demonstrations calling for more
minority students and professors. While working for Chicago’s Sidley Austin law firm in
1989, she met her future husband. Before they married in 1992, Michelle moved on to
public service.
Starting out as the assistant commissioner of planning and development at City Hall in
Chicago, eventually she became vice-president of community and external affairs at the
Medical Centre in the University of Chicago. She has spent her whole career engaging
young people, while improving the community where she grew up.

REVOLUTIONARY WOMAN
As a truly modern-day, revolutionary woman, who has championed a multitude of
important causes throughout her life, she has encouraged better education for girls, equal
rights, healthy living and more help for families living in poverty. Her own CV is pretty
impressive: First Lady, lawyer, bestselling author of her memoirs (called “Becoming”), style
icon and mother. When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008,
Michelle’s activism had an international platform. In 2010, as First Lady, Michelle launched
her Let’s Move initiative, aimed at addressing the childhood obesity problem gripping the
United States. She urged kids to make healthy choices and campaigned for companies and
schools to offer healthier eating options.

INSPIRING SUCCESS
Michelle and Second Lady Jill Biden launched another initiative, Joining Forces, in 2011. It
supported members of the armed forces, veterans and their families. It provided education,
wellness and employment opportunities to help them succeed in life. Michelle focused on
education in 2014, inspiring children to succeed academically. She used her own upbringing
to show what this could achieve, telling supporters of her Reach Higher initiative, “I am an
example of what is possible when girls, from the very beginning of their lives, are loved and
nurtured by people around them.” She urged young people to continue their education
beyond high school, giving themselves the tools to decide how to pursue their chosen path
to the best of their abilities.

GIRLS’ EDUCATION
In 2015, she and Barack launched Let Girls Learn, encouraging girls to stay in school and
asking the government to make a greater investment in their education. “No country can
ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the
contributions of half its citizens,” she said. Appealing directly to girls and young women,
Michelle told them, “You don’t want to be with a boy who is too stupid to appreciate a
smart young lady. There is no boy who is cute enough, or interesting enough, to stop you
from getting your education.” In his presidential farewell address, her husband publicly
described Michelle as having done everything with “grace, grit, style and good humour.”
Everything she does is done with passion, from breaking down stereotypes to removing the
barriers for girls’ education. She even made a guest appearance at the Grammy Awards,
while her book made it to the top of the New York Times bestsellers’ list. There’s nothing
that she can’t do and she continues to inspire people with her positive attitude.
Source: https://www.headspacegroup.co.uk/inspiring-others-to-success-michelle-obama/

Answer the questions below

1. Did Michelle’s story start when she became the first lady?

2. What initiatives did Michelle have?

3. What areas did she focus on?

4. In your own words, why is Michelle an inspiration?

5. Can you think of a Brazilian person who is also an inspiration?